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i do box stitches. 1 box per inch. i've found that 2 are enough, but ymmv. basically sew a big rectangle, then halve it, then diagonal one way, straight across to other side, diagonal the other way, repeat, repeat, repeat, make 2 lines of stitching in each diagonal, finish with a tight zig zag on each end. don;t know what the strength rating of this is, but, knock on wood, i haven't had one to fail me or my buddies yet.

Thanks, so I'm not overdoing or underdoing it? And using a zigzag is good form?

On the 1" heavy tree straps I did it was a little tough to get 3-4 times across with a zigzag. I thought maybe a straight stitch would be easier as it doesn't overlap itself as much. On the tree straps I used a 4" overlap and made 5 stitch locations including the ends.

i do box stitches. 1 box per inch. i've found that 2 are enough, but ymmv. basically sew a big rectangle, then halve it, then diagonal one way, straight across to other side, diagonal the other way, repeat, repeat, repeat, make 2 lines of stitching in each diagonal, finish with a tight zig zag on each end. don;t know what the strength rating of this is, but, knock on wood, i haven't had one to fail me or my buddies yet.

Over what length of overlap do you use this? I get the drift but don't suppose you have a pic..

You may find this video by CreativeKayt a member (check out her other videos too - very informative.

BTW, I made a pair of tree straps by hand stitching with upholstery thread and a large doll needle. I used a back stitch in a sort of zig zag pattern, going back and forth three or four times, with strong bar tacks on each end. I made a total of five lines, and the result is very strong.

That said, I also ordered a pair from Arrowhead Equipment - Paul's straps are much lighter and neater than my hand stitched creations, and reasonably priced too

I have looked at fall arresting straps for iron workers and such and they use straight stitches going in line with the direction of pull not across on a two inch strap there was more than ten back and forth lines four inches long and it was rated to arrest a load of 350lbs. See the attached, pages 11 to 14

Climbing webbing is good for climbing, but not for hanging a hammock.
Typically, climbing webbing is designed to stretch to absorb the impact during a fall. So in a hammock hanging scenario, stretch is to be avoided. You may have issues after a few hours in the hammock, with the hammock ending up touching the ground. ymmv.

Several different ways to sew your webbing. A box stitch with with an x thru it is generally good. Repeated zig-zags work, too. Pick your poison.

yours look fine, depending on what type of thread you used...100% polyester is the preference here....not that other types won't hold, just preferred.

As a climber, you aren't going to end up on the ground due to nylon webbing stretching. Nylong webbing can stretch ~30% at breaking strength, which is stretchy, but we're not talking shock cord here. The properties of the webbing are such that the stretch should occur as soon as weight is placed on them. It's not a slow creepy sort of stretch that would cause you to end up on the ground overnight. It may stretch a little, but really, not that much. (Unless you are hanging from trees that are 50 feet apart or something.) Granted, the climbing webbing is WAY heavier than the regular, static polypro stuff that most people here use. Climbing webbing is what I had laying around in my earlier hammocking days, so that's what I used, and I never ended up on the ground.

Also, climbing gear uses bar tacks, essentially very tight zig zag stitches in multiple rows, to create closed loops for their gear. They have commercial machines with special bar tacking attachments to do it in the strongest way possible, but for our purposes, several rows of tight zig zags should be strong enough, if my gut serves me right.

Climbing webbing is not made to stretch to absorb falls, that's what the rope does with its built in stretch. Many of the quick draws , webbing used in climbing has NO stretch. Some of the tubular webbing used as gear slings or anchors at belays has a small bit if stretch to it but it has nothing to do with reducing the dynamic force of a fall ,,that's what the rope does.

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